


An Epic Of Time Wasted

by LilahLuck



Category: Avenged Sevenfold, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-29 07:41:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15724980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilahLuck/pseuds/LilahLuck
Summary: The military and the scientific community have joined forces to investigate the paranormal, time travel, genetic mutation and everything inbetween. Dr Way and his dream team are about to make as much noise and trouble as possible before very possibly the planet splits in two....





	1. A New Guest

Frank woke with a start.  
His head connected sharply with the wall and a few choice words escaped his lips as he pulled himself upright. He had fallen asleep in his clothes again, his cardigan rumpled over a t-shirt that had ridden up over his tattooed stomach. He pushed it back down absently and shoved his feet into his sneakers before standing and heading towards the door to his room.  
Passing the mirror made him pause, Frank had forgotten to shave in a while and his hair badly needed a cut. Long dark bangs hung in his eyes and he winced, one hand pushing the worst of the curls away so he could see better. Picking up his latest note book he ambled out into the long corridor and headed in search of the noise that had woken him up.  
After four months working underground Frank was used to the normal noises of his friends experiments, the military guys testing kit and all the other more normal oddities that had seemed so strange at first. He was a quantum physicist, one of the best of his generation with a number of doctorates and yet still he felt like a kid in the candy store working in the huge bunker that was spreading out in front of him.  
An internationally funded, top secret, very hush hush candy store.  
In all they had only had five scientists and five military personnel in their section, the more outlandish section if the truth was told. Most of the facility worked in weapons, bio-tech and conventional science whereas Frank and his friends were more interested in the experimental side which included things that most people didn’t even believe let alone think had value. It was lucky for them that the government was a little bit more far thinking.  
“If you’re wondering what the noise was, it was Mikey.”  
Frank grinned, Gerard Way was his best buddy and quite possibly the nicest guy he had ever met despite the IQ and the matching qualifications in both genetics and nanotechnology. Along with his younger brother Mikey, who indeed sometimes took his molecular chemistry experiments too far, there was nothing that the three of them couldn’t accomplish and that was before you added in Ray and Bob.  
“What exploded this time?”  
“Nothing, he was just talking to our newest find…”  
Gerard grinned wickedly which made Frank giggle.  
“You know I’m uncomfortable with how the big shots seem to think getting the military to kidnap people is okay.”  
“Frankie, you gotta relax. This one is apparently a witch.”  
The shorter man rolled his eyes which made Gerard smirk even more. He was also dark haired and classically beautiful with sharp cheekbones and hazel eyes. He wore all black, the dark waistcoat setting of the red tie knotted around his throat. Most of the ladies in the facility were apt to stare and that amused him all the more and annoyed his little brother who was equally striking.  
“What? Did she turn him into a frog?”  
“Well not yet but she did produce a raincloud from the ceiling and soak his lanky ass.”  
Frank stopped, folding his arms and staring at Gee.  
“Yeah, right.”  
“Saw it with my own eyes.”  
Gerard continued along the gangplank and waved through the office door to Sharon. She ran their division and facility, she was also his wife and not above reminding him of the fact when Gerard got carried away. She waved back with a grin, the colonel of the military side of the facility was clearly pissed and Frank again counted his luck that they could leave the bureaucracy in her capable hands.  
“The last one was a fake, this one will be a fake.”  
Frank followed Gerard down another long set of stairs and stopped. Mikey Way was standing in the hallway, dripping wet and clearly annoyed. He was taller than his brother, a vision in black and leather with short hair that now dripped water onto the floor.   
“This one doesn’t appear to be fake. Needs more research though.”  
Frank grinned, a rare smile from Mikey appearing.  
“Thought Ray handled the newcomers.”  
“He’s busy with a slight mutant rodent problem.”  
Gerard winced, they had warned Ray about gene splicing without the finaly calculations and now Bob was probably going to be late on the heat ray applications that the military had been pushing for.  
“How big is it?”  
Mikey was deadpan.  
“Small car sized. I need to go get changed.”  
He walked along with them towards their quarters leaving Gerard and Frank to head down towards the cordoned off areas that led to their labs, the holding facilities and an entire test range and military holding bay. There was a young man in fatigues sitting on a stack of crates that looked up as they appeared on the gangway above and winked at Frank. This was Zacky, his twin and the reason Frank had got sucked into this operation at all. They had found each other again as teens after being adopted separately and although not identical, were extremely close. That one was a decorated soldier while the other a celebrated scientist always amused Gee and now he shouted after his brother.  
“I’ll send Lily to help you.”  
Mikey sent a finger gesture over his shoulder at Gee’s remark. It was a running joke that their mousy historian had a crush on Mikey and Frank always felt kinda bad for teasing the girl about it. Gerard didn’t, he knew his brother well enough to know there was a spark there and felt a little good natured bantering that made the girl blush might just push them a little closer. She was as brilliant in her field as they were of course, just incredibly shy and would never manage to make the first move.  
“Poor girl would die of fright, I know the shit your brother likes.”  
Zacky smirked at Gerard and passed Frank the folder he had been reading. There was talk that the scientists were working on time travel and despite repeated nagging, begging and threats of getting his buddies Syn and Matt to beat the shit out of him, so far Frank wasn’t telling.  
“We’re gonna be out of here for a while in a couple of days. Somebody found a suspicious hole.”  
“Yeah, its called Gates’ ass.”  
Frank doubled over, laughing till he wheezed as Gerard gave Zacky the most irritating smirk he could muster. There was a friendly rivalry going on between the scientists and the soldiers and both sides were determined not to lose. The cavernous room around them was stacked with the marines equipment and the man mentioned now poked his head over a jeep and winked at Gerard.  
“Might go ask your wife if you can find out.”  
“Don’t tease me baby.”  
Syn grinned and shook his head, coming around the jeep to sit next to Zacky. They had all been amused by the various test subjects that the government had dumped on the scientists at various times and wanted to hear about the newcomer before the rumour mill went into overdrive. It had taken them a surprise op to bag the young woman and Syn wasn’t sure why it had been so quick and so violent.  
“What’s your new toy? I thought we were going after some kind of killer yet she didn’t put up a fight.”  
“She’s a witch. Apparently. If you believe that kinda thing.”  
“The last one was a fake.”  
Gerard clapped Frank on the back and pulled him on again as the two soldiers watched them leave. Witch or not they had work to do and just for once he hoped that there would be something to actually see rather than just another wannabe.  
“That’s what Frank said. I’ll let you know when she turns you into a toad.”  
The sound of laughter followed them as the lab opened up again in front of them and they prepared to gather all the test equipment that would be needed to test what they had been told about the woman in their cell. Frank leant up against the door and lit a cigarette.  
“What if this one isn’t fake?”  
Gerard ran his hand through his hair.  
“Only one way to find out.”


	2. The Witch

“Well first I should apologise.”  
Sharon smiled, taking in the girl in front of her. A goth of course, they usually were although the young woman pulled it off well with a mane of blue and green hair that hung below her shoulders. She seemed to be watching both Sharon and Gerard intently, the latter amused and curious after watching a miniature storm cloud soak his brother when they had tried this the first time.  
“For kidnapping me? Yes, you should.”  
Claire stared at the smartly dressed redheaded woman and the attractive dark haired man. She had known her powers were growing and now cursed herself for losing her temper and making the town mute. It had clearly attracted attention and it would be difficult to extract herself. She glanced towards the only other person in the room, a young female soldier with punky blonde hair and glasses who seemed to be regarding her with equal curiosity.  
“We had an entire town of 20,000 people unable to talk and all of them pointed at you. Quite literally for some of them. That’s impressive Claire.”  
“I don’t know what you mean. You listen to town gossip and use that to kidnap people?”  
Sharon tapped her pen on the folder in front of her. They had actually been watching the girl for a while. A true and natural witch was a rarity and there was no way that they were going to let her carry on in public even if what had happened had been accidental. She knew Gerard believed that such an ability was genetic and wanted to see if the girl would let them run some experiments and test. Not that Claire had much choice now.  
“We are a secret facility, not going to deny it but neither should you deny what you can do.”  
Gerard leant forward, fixing the girl with a smile.  
“And what you can do is remarkable. Have you always had the gift?”  
Claire felt a chill go up her back. There was something intense about the man and she glanced again at the armed young woman at the door. There had been no chance to escape when they had grabbed her, she had been sleeping and while they hadn’t hurt her, the threat of violence had been there. She sighed, pouting slightly.  
“Not exactly. I have studied hard but I always knew I was…different.”  
Sharon made a note, trying to be reassuring.  
“We mean you no harm. This facility exists to help people like yourself and to keep the country safe from several threats of an unusual nature.”  
“So what’s she there for?”  
Claire pointed towards the young and clearly armed soldier.  
“Evie is one of our military personnel. Our part of the operation has a unit of soldiers as well as scientists like Gerard here.”  
Evie herself took a shaky breath and again cursed Johnny under her breath. They had been best friends since basic training and he had persuaded her to apply for this gig. It was her first day and already she had seen a cloud appear out of thin air complete with lightening and wind. It was confusing, exciting and she was going to kick Johnny in the balls before the end of the day.  
“You want to experiment on me?”  
Claire glared at the couple in front of her, fingers itching.  
“Of course not! Although if you would voluntarily give me some blood samples and…”  
Gerard’s words were cut off as Sharon elbowed him in the ribs.  
“We are intrigued, that’s all. Like the rain thing.”  
“What this?”  
Claire opened her palm, not even needing to speak the spell aloud to bring a tiny misty cloud into existence. It rose, growing a little until a few soft snowflakes landed on the folder in front of Gerard. It hung in the air, the silence in the room total until the witch waved her hand through it and the little cloud disappeared.  
“I like weather.”  
Gerard was fascinated, he badly wanted Frank’s opinion and to find out just how much more Claire was capable of. Sharon regained her composure and nodded slowly.  
“I can see that. What else can you do?”  
“Nothing I am willing to show you. You can’t keep me here.”  
Evie felt a shiver go up her back, there was a chilling finality to the words and she watched as Gerard leant forward, his voice calm and silky. Claire could see how charming he was and kind of liked it. In all honesty it was actually quite interesting to see how these people were not freaked out by her, unlike most others which had led to her shutting them all up in the first place.  
“Like I said, we just want your help. After that, you can go.”  
Sharon kept her face neutral, there was nothing like her man when he wanted something bad enough and it turned her on to watch it. Gerard had a dominant personality hidden behind considerable charm and she wondered again about the genetics of that family. Mikey too was definitely the dominant but much more open about it. She dragged her mind back to the matter in hand as Claire continued to watch her husband.  
“Yeah, right.”  
“I have no reason to lie to you. We’re scientists, mostly genetics, physics, chemistry, all that stuff. Your talents could be useful in helping us understand the universe a little better.”  
He flashed a smile and Claire couldn’t help but warily return it.  
“No experimenting on me. I won’t allow you to and you saw what I did to that town…”  
Sharon giggled, casting a reassuring look at Evie.  
“Oh there’s a couple here you may be able to help me shut up actually.”  
Gerard pulled a face, the tension seeping out of the room a little. Claire glanced around at the little room, trying to remember where she had come in and failing. There had been no time and they had pushed a hood over her head when they had grabbed her. She stared at Sharon, curious now in her turn.  
“So where am I?”  
“A bunker, few miles underground. We are a huge facility but this end is ours. Gerard and his brother Mikey run the lab with Frank who you will meet and a couple of colleagues. We have an archaeology section and of course, our military force. I can’t go into the specifics of what we do obviously but you will be comfortable here. Shall we?”  
She stood, Evie opening the door as Claire and Gerard stepped after her and out onto the gangway. For the first time Claire took in the huge space, the mass of locked doors and vehicles below that had people wandering around and the hum of machinery. Sharon beckoned her along the platform, Gerard heading down the stairs towards his lab.  
“I’ll take you to your quarters and get you settled in.”  
Claire nodded numbly, it was clear that going along with whatever these people wanted was the only option that she realistically had. There were armed men around, no visible escape route and although she knew that they were seriously underestimating her, it would be better to play along.  
“You have other people like me?”  
Sharon smiled.  
“Oh no, we don’t have anyone like you…”  
Evie sent a finger gesture down at Johnny who just smiled and went back to being yelled at by Matt for breaking yet another axle. He knew she would smack him one later but had a bet with Zacky that the minute she met Mikey Way it would be a different story. He winced as someone smacked him in the head.  
“Screw you Gates.”  
“Not when you ask like that. Hey Matt, can I borrow short shit?”  
Matt Sanders rolled his eyes, keeping his squad under control was a full time job and it was hard enough on normal military duty. This place took those issues and exaggerated them but he never doubted his men. They were the best and had proved it, even with some of the weirder things they had seen. He glanced up, warily keeping his eye out for the pet that the scientists had accidently let loose. It appeared rarely but was terrifying, mentally he made a note to warn Evie to keep an eye on the sky. With a sigh he looked at Syn, the man in front of him was handsome and charming, also his best killer.  
“What do you want him for?”  
“Lily and Mikey are gonna attack that weird disc thing that got dug up in Iraq. There us a shit ton of books to move and my back is saying fuck off.”  
Johnny winced again, that sounded like Syn meant to load him with books like a pack horse and Matt would probably let him.  
“Sure. When you gonna ask her out?”  
Syn’s jaw dropped.  
“Lily?”  
“Yeah, you ain’t normally shy and that girl sure is. Piece of cake.”  
Syn shifted uncomfortably, he had become liason for the girl by accident and liked her despite her shyness. He wasn’t about to admit that it went further than that and smacked Johnny around the head again.  
“It’s not like that. She’s sweet but not my type.”  
Matt simply smirked and waved them away. He had more than enough to do before Jimmy returned with his report and more weird artefacts. Always with the weird shit. He went back to his list, ten minutes passing without incident until an explosion back down towards the labs made everything shudder. Alarms started to ring, smoke appearing as Matt yelled out orders and headed towards the trouble.  
Just another normal Monday morning.


	3. The Tablet

Meanwhile….  
“I really don’t think this is a good idea.”  
Mikey smirked, raising the box in his hands to look at its contents as he strode along the corridor towards his lab. Lily was almost running to keep up, pushing her glasses back up her nose and trying to hand onto all her paperwork as she followed him. She was dressed in black as usual, the long dress ending in laced boots that matched her long dark braid perfectly. Mikey thought nobody had ever looked so much like a librarian but wondering what was underneath turned him on a little.  
“Relax, I’m not going to damage it.”  
“It’s a Sumero-Akkadian Cuneiform tablet dating from 2600 BC, you better not bloody damage it.”  
Mikey turned, an amused smile lighting up his face.  
“I like it when you talk dirty to me babygirl.”  
Lily instantly blushed, her eyes dropping as he smirked and turned back to walking the short distance to his lab. She huffed, always confused about what it was about the annoying man that attracted her. She had never had much success with men and found that any of them paying attention to her made her nervous hence the blushing whenever Mikey said anything or Syn flirted.  
Following him inside, she closed the heavy doors and laid the mass of books and papers onto the bench as Mikey slid the lid of the box open and then pulled on gloves. She liked it in his lab, everything neat and ordered which was so unlike how Gerard and Frank worked with paper and coffee cups everywhere.  
“It shouldn’t have been where they found it.”  
Mikey carefully lifted the round clay disc into the air and pondered.  
“What does it say?”  
“That’s what’s strange. It is a letter from a high priest to a King of Lagash telling him that there is a raven god loose and it has killed his son.”  
Mikey lowered the tablet and stared at the girl.  
“Raven god?”  
Lily shrugged, her translation of Sumerian was a little rusty but there had been no doubt about the symbols despite the ancients habits of using one picture to represent many things.  
“Either that or a soap god. Take your pick. What are you going to do?”  
Mikey placed the tablet into a petri dish and looked up to his shelf.  
“You said it shouldn’t have been where they found it so I thought we could test the chemical compounds to see if we can narrow down where it came from…”  
He pointed her to a chair and pulled down a few different jars before crossing over to a machine on the other side of the room. He liked having her there, she always seemed interested in his work and Mikey was equally as interested in hers. This particular case probably wouldn’t tell them why the dig that found it had ended in everyone dying and being pulled apart by unseen forces but it would be interesting to both of them and that was enough for him.  
“Did you catch the….thing yet?”  
Mikey was deadpan, unamused by Ray and Frank letting the damn thing loose in the first place. It remained at large in his facility, shitting on everything and frequently people when it wasn’t dive-bombing. He wondered again why it amused his brother so much and why Matt hadn’t shot it.  
“Not my circus, not my flying thing. Did it attack you?”  
“Not this week.”  
Mikey opened the lid to his x-ray machine and placed the tablet inside.  
“We can test this without having to take a sample. Little light therapy.”  
He punched a few figures in and stepped back, his mind drawn to other tests they could do as Lily beckoned him over to where she held a small bloodstained book. It was clearly a diary, although both of them doubted that the author had expected it to end as suddenly as it did.  
“It was buried deeper than the text suggests. Under debris that went back another couple of thousand years BC. Makes no sense.”  
“Kinda like ten bodies being ripped to bits.”  
Lily nodded, absently touching the stains.  
“Wonder why the eleventh ended up four miles away.”  
“Matt reckoned it could have been an animal attack. Jimmy is gonna send us a full report when he gets back.”  
Lily jumped as a pop from the x-ray made Mikey turn back. He frowned, the machine was brand new and yet now smoke was coming out of it and all the screens were blank. He swore under his breath and pulled out his phone to text Bob. Their huge blond friend was the tech expert and would no doubt be pissed that Mikey had already broke the thing. After firing off a few words he slung the phone down and pulled open the door.  
“What the fuck….”  
The petri dish was glowing red, the clay tablet shimmering as Mikey pulled on a pair of fire retardant gloves and carefully pulled the artefact out and placed it on the counter. Lily slid from her chair, the dairy discarded as she joined him to stare at the tablet. He gently grasped her shoulders, moving her back a little with a determined look.  
“Your bodyguard will smack me if you get struck by this thing exploding.”  
Again Lily blushed.  
“Syn is my friend, he just helps me with the heavy lifting.”  
Mikey raised an eyebrow.  
“Oh I bet he does sugar.”  
“Mikey please….”  
He supressed a growl, turned on by the way her eyes dropped. He picked up a scalpel and poked the edge of the still radiant object. Despite herself she crept forward again, both of them transfixed by the light patterns being reflected on the stark white walls and floor of the lab. It seemed to come from within thee clay itself and Mikey tried to work out where the sparkles of red light were coming from before it suddenly went dark.  
“Oh….”  
Lily couldn’t help the disappointed sigh as Mikey carefully turned the tablet over to see if the writing on the back would show the light as the front had done. There now seemed to be nothing and he turned away to grab his notebook.  
As the tablet righted itself onto one edge.  
The glow returned, growing in intensity in less than a second.  
Lily reached out, her eyes wide as she tried to grab Mikey’s sleeve but never made it as a huge flash of light seemed to fill the laboratory with a deep red glow. Mikey was sent careening into the opposite wall, all air and consciousness knocked from him as Lily was hit by the edge of the lightning itself and sent into the opposite wall. The air and red light expanded into an explosion, lifting the ceiling and blowing the huge door clean from their hinges. A rush of smoke and dust followed, klaxons rising in the air as the other members of the team came rushing towards the destroyed room.  
Matt reached it first, Syn on his heels as they took in the state of the lab. It was like a literal bomb had gone off, both men immediately seeing Mikey who had fallen between the remains of specimen cabinets. They had saved him from the half caved ceiling and the two soldiers quickly pulled him free, supporting Mikey between them as they carried him outside.  
“Johnny! Medic! NOW!”  
Johnny was already there, assessing Mikey’s condition as they laid him down. The short man might be the butt of the occasional joke but his medical skills were the best the medical corps had to offer and Matt was happy to let him take over as Syn climbed back into the ruined room shouting for Lily.  
“What the fuck happened?”  
Frank winced at the sight, turning to see Gerard and Ray coming towards them.  
“Don’t know but we need to get Lily out.”  
“A little help here.”  
Matt and Gerard climbed back into the room to help Syn shift some rubble. They could see Lily laying up against the wall, out cold and under another section of dangerously sagging ceiling. They inched in, hearing Sharon arrive and yell at them to be careful. It was drowned out as concrete and metal groaned and shifted. Matt grabbed Syn, yanking him backwards as the thought crossed his mind that there was nothing any of them could do.  
It was all coming down.  
And Lily was underneath it.  
Until the concrete paused in mid air.  
Claire gritted her teeth, muttering under her breath.  
“Casus habent!”  
Syn stared, taking the girl in as she stared back at him.  
“Well fucking hurry it up, I can’t hold this up forever.”  
He and Matt dove forward, lifting Lily clear as Gerard and Frank reached in to help and pass her back outside to where Johnny had brought a very groggy Mikey round. Once she was sure that the danger was over Claire let go with her mind, the tonnes of rubble dropping with a crash. Evie grabbed her hand, the cloud of dust causing everyone to cough as Sharon glared them all down.  
“Now is someone going to tell me what the fuck just happened.”  
Mikey shook the pain from his head.  
“That fucking Sumerian thing. Is she ok?”  
Johnny shook his head, unable to bring Lily around and knowing that any kind of head injury presented a risk. A stretcher appeared, Syn gently lifting Lily onto it as Johnny and Gerard both insisted that Mikey should go to the infirmary too. Ray and Bob were bleakly assessing the damage, dispatching Evie and a returning Zack to go find the maintenance people and get the room shored up. In the middle of it all a harsh screech sounded overhead and a dark swooping shape wheeled in and out of the smoke. Sharon shook her head, reminding herself to get Jimmy to shoot that fucking thing before turning to her husband.  
“You ain’t going in there to get that thing….”  
Gerard just smirked, one hand slipping around her waist.  
“But baby, you know you wanna….”  
They shared a grin as more smoke rose and the klaxon finally fell silent.


End file.
